Rep. Aaron Schock, Illinois Republican, said Monday that primary election season is holding Congress back on acting on issues like immigration reform.

“I think at the end of the day this will take Democrats working with Republicans to get it done and I think the primary season, let me just say this, has made it difficult not just on immigration but on a whole host of issues” including trade agreements, he said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

Mr. Schock also addressed House Speaker John A. Boehner’s recent lampooning of members of his own conference who he described as taking the path of least resistance on immigration.

“Look, I think this is John Boehner in his raw form,” Mr. Schock said. “He is someone who’s very real. He’s someone who is very direct in his conversations, not just publicly, but to us behind closed doors addressing the conference.”

There are many folks who say they want to make tough decisions “but when push comes to shove, they find it difficult to do so,” Mr. Schock said.

“But I think the House of Representatives is the place for immigration reform to be addressed,” he continued. “Our body faces the electorate every two years. The Republican majority believes in fixing broken government. This is a broken government program, and it’s why I’ve been very outspoken in pushing my leadership and being very outspoken in my views on the need for immigration reform.”

He said he thinks Mr. Boehner has laid out his desire to do immigration reform on a step-by-step basis, noting the House has already advanced a border security measure and is working on a visa enforcement bill, also mentioning House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s work on legislation dealing with the children of illegal immigrants who are known as Dreamers.

“But at the end of the day, [Mr. Boehner] represents a conference of Congress, and we are a reflection of our constituents, so while I go back to Illinois and I speak about my views, based on what I hear from my constituents, I respect other people in my conference who have differing views,” Mr. Schock said.